The placebo effect is all about the power of the mind, and some doctors use it very often. Because when we expect to get better with medicines we often will, some doctors prescribe vitamins, tonics, and sometimes antibiotics and sedatives, not because we really need the medicine itself, but because the feeling that we are taking a powerful drug for our symptoms will often cure us. (Antibiotic resistance is not all the fault of patients!)

It works the other way too: if you expect something to harm or hurt you, it probably will. Oncologists have written about people who die suddenly after finding out they have cancer, much sooner than the cancer itself could kill them and sooner than the doctor expected. In certain cultures, knowing that a witchdoctor has put a spell on a person can kill that person.

It can even work on other people: children who have teachers or parents  who believe they will do well often do well (in examinations, in jobs, in life); children whose parents think they are incapable often do badly.

The power of the mind, and the mind-body connection, is still mysterious. This is in spite of our advanced understanding of the brain, and the flourishing field of bio-psychiatry which connects our feelings, behaviors, and even beliefs to chemical processes in the brain.

Susan Vinodh Pandian

Read more about the mind:

1. What is sixth sense?

2. Understanding memory

3. Positive thinking helps prevent depression

4. Positive thinking can leave you with a hole in your pocket